For those who are unaware of what has been happening, Chief Justice Malaba’s tenure was momentarily extended by the President. The high court later ruled against this. During the course of these court proceedings the Minister of Justice himself is said to have tried to interrupt.

Another urgent chamber application is said to have been filed by the minister while he simultaneously hinted that the judges were not just.

The President set that statement straight in his tweet stating:

In Zimbabwe, the independence of our judiciary is vital to the survival of our democracy. When our courts speak, all Zimbabweans should listen.

The Government or Zimbabwe wholeheartedly respects the independence of our judiciary.

— President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) May 18, 2021

This statement supported the stance later adopted by Ziyambi’s ministry that said:

However, people on social media where these statements were released pointed out to the contradictory nature of the President’s word versus his actions. Although he mentions that the government respects the independence of the judiciary, the terms of the Constitution Amendment Bill (no2) seem to say otherwise.

Critics have previously pointed out that the amendment bill (no2) gives the President the ability to override the judiciary in some matters. View the terms of the bill here.

One such comment was shared by a Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights member, Doug Coltart. View the tweet below:

With respect, sir, unless you fire Minister Ziyambi for his appalling attack on the judges, this all means nothing.

Also, if you care about the independence of the judiciary, why pass Constitutional Amendment No. 1 and 2 *both* of which undermine the judiciary’s independence? https://t.co/2S2eW216Et

— Doug Coltart (@DougColtart) May 18, 2021

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The post President Mnangagwa entangled in own contradictory statement appeared first on Provoker Magazine.

This issue managed to land Zimbabwe in international media outlets as we revealed in detail in this article.

Chief Justice Malaba’s term was extended 5 hours before he was due to retire as we covered in this article. However, an urgent chamber application was filed against this move and the results proceeded to be favourable and Malaba ceased to be Chief Justice.

Zimbabwean writer and lawyer, Pettina Gappah even shared her sentiments on the situation. Read on that here.

The situation highlights a level of “narrow-mindedness” as expressed by Gappah. One would think that we’ve seen enough of these events in less than a week’s period.

However, another urgent chamber application has been filed disputing the decision to remove Chief Justice Malaba from his position. Minister of Justice, Ziyambi Ziyambi, who was reported for contempt of court in the court proceedings that resulted in the ousting of Malaba is said to be responsible for this chamber application.

View the related documents below;

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section below.

The post Back and forth: Malaba saga back in court. They want him back appeared first on Provoker Magazine.